


Trade-Off

by Not__Misha__Collins



Series: Harry Potter One-shots [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fred Weasley Lives, Gen, Percy Weasley Dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 02:33:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16525649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not__Misha__Collins/pseuds/Not__Misha__Collins
Summary: How did Percy know to push Fred out of the way of the explosion?





	Trade-Off

“I don’t think I’ve heard you joke since you were…”

The air exploded. Percy went wide-eyed for a split second before he shoved Fred to the ground. It took a moment to realize the older brother had shoved Fred from the brunt of the blast, which he was standing directly under.

“Percy?” Fred stood up, his head hurt, and went pale at the sight of his brother, “Percy!”

Percy lied on the ground, limp, as his blood dripped from his head onto the pavement. Fred whimpered. **How much blood could a person lose before…**

“Percy!” he crouched next to his brother, “No. Please, please wake up!”

He felt a hand on his shoulder as he cradled his brother.

“Please,” Fred whimpered, sounding like a pleading child, but not caring, “Please, please, no.”

“Fred,” Harry spoke calmly, “You can’t do anything for him.”

“I can’t leave him! I won’t!”

“Fred, it’s not safe,” Ron carefully took Percy’s body from Fred’s arms, “Please. We’ll come back for him.”

Fred stood up and watched as Harry and Ron helped move Percy’s body out of harm’s way. Ron dragged him down the hall, forcing him to abandon his brother.

“Freddie,” George called.

Fred met the eyes of his twin.

“Where’s Percy?”

“He’s…” Fred stopped, “George, he’s…”

“No,” George stated.

“I’m sorry,” Fred stated, “There was an explosion. He pushed me out of the way and…”

“He pushed you?” George asked, “How? There’s no way he could have known. Unless…”

“Don’t you dare,” Fred demanded, “Don’t you dare accuse him of being a…”

“I’m not.”

Fred could see the suspicion in George’s eyes.

…

One week after the battle, Percy’s funeral was being planned and Fred received a letter from the Ministry of Magic.

“What’s that?” George asked.

“A letter from…Percy,” Fred answered.

He read the official looking letter.

**Fred,**

**If I’ve dated this correctly, it should reach you exactly one week after the final battle. If everything has gone correctly, I’m dead. If not, then I’ve failed you, and I’m truly sorry. I owe you an explanation for all of this. I dreamt of your death multiple times before it happened. I saw how you were intended to die, the last words out of your mouth, the smile on your face after the explosion that would kill you. You can’t cheat death, I know that, but I’ll be damned if I don’t try to save my brother. I know what must happen, I think. I’m sorry and I hope you can forgive me for what I’m about to do and for all I’ve done these past few years. I love all of you.**

**Your brother,**

**Percy**

Fred threw the letter down angrily.

“Bloody git!”

“What is it?” George asked.

“He knew,” Fred stated, “He wasn’t a damn death eater, George! He knew I was going to die, he saw it before it happened, and he chose to…”

George read the letter.

“Damn it!” George shouted, seemingly at the letter itself, “What kind of fucked up trade-off is this? We didn’t want you dead, you idiot!”

“He went into the battle KNOWING he was going to die,” Fred stated.

“We were wrong about him,” George said, “I was wrong about him.”

Fred nodded.

“How am I supposed to live with this?”

“He wanted you to live,” George said.

Fred whimpered.

“I hate him,” Fred spat.

“No you don’t. You never did.”

“How could he do this?” Fred asked.

George hugged his crying twin tightly.

“I think you’d do the same if you saw one of us die,” he said, “I think we all would.”

“P…Perce…”

“I know. I miss him, too.”


End file.
